Concert For George - Definition and Overview

The Concert For George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 29th 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death, under the musical direction of Eric Clapton.

The evening opened with Indian music when Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, played "Your Eyes". Next, Anoushka Shankar and Jeff Lynne performed "The Inner Light", followed by another Ravi Shankar composition "Arpan" (pronounced Arpa, meaning 'to give'), specially written for the occasion.

Comedy interlude with members of the Monty Python troupe, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam along with Neil Innes and special guest Tom Hanks performed "Sit On My Face" and "The Lumberjack Song".

The remainder of the concert featured "George's Band" and included musicians Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Jools Holland, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, George's son Dhani, and a multitude of musicians who appeared on George's recordings over the years. Between them they played a selection of mostly George Harrison's songs, from both Beatles and post-Beatles eras, generally staying faithful to George's original arrangements. Highlights included Eric Clapton and Billy Preston on "Isn't It A Pity", Paul McCartney on "Something" opening with a solo ukulele accompaniment, and Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr reuniting for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

Rest of set list

1. I Want To Tell You
2. If I Needed Someone
3. Old Brown Shoe
4. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
5. Beware of Darkness
6. Here Comes The Sun
7. That's The Way It Goes
8. Taxman
9. I Need You
10. Handle With Care
11. Isn't It A Pity
12. Photograph
13. Honey Don't
14. For You Blue
15. Something
16. All Things Must Pass
17. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
18. My Sweet Lord
19. Wah Wah
20. I'll See You In My Dreams

The event was organised by Olivia, George's wife, with all profits from the event to benefit the Material World Charitable Foundation.

The event was video-recorded and was released briefly in theaters. It was released on DVD and CD on November 18, 2003.